Attachment, stress and interactional justice

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how individuals' attachment dispositions relate to interactional justice perceptions, how work stressors moderate this association, and how together they associate with attitudes (satisfaction, turnover intention, commitment) and citizenship behaviors at work.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were used in an observed variable path analysis examining mediation by interactional justice and moderation by stressors on the associations between attachment dimensions and work outcomes.

Findings

Attachment avoidance was negatively related to interactional justice perceptions and attachment anxiety was also negatively related to interactional justice perceptions, but only under conditions of higher work stressors. Interactional justice mediated the associations between attachment avoidance and work outcomes, and between the interaction of attachment anxiety and work stressors on work outcomes.

Practical implications

These findings are particularly relevant to multiple aspects of HR practice, including performance feedback, managing stressors, building resilience, reward allocation and recognition, designing wellness programs and other aspects of human resource management.

Originality/value

This research goes beyond contextual predictors of justice perceptions and demonstrates that jointly considering attachment dimensions and work stressors uniquely contributes to understanding the formation of justice perceptions and their combined influence on work attitudes and behavior.

Citation

Richards, D.A., Albert, L.S. and Schat, A.C.H. (2024), "Attachment, stress and interactional justice", Personnel Review, Vol. 53 No. 6, pp. 1375-1391. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2022-0537